Brewmaster

Wish I had looked at this sooner. Those flames were DUUUUUM.

Dropping in a quick response (so if this has been covered, my apologies): the set value that players have to "fight" represents a fundamental style of interaction between players and storyteller that sets the rules of the type of game you're getting into. What it also does is change the fundamental social contract between player and story teller as well. In your traditional "DnD" game, the result of a players actions in game is generally "smaller" because rules and tables dictate what players can and can't do. In games where the rules are a bit looser (such as this one), the results of players actions are generally "bigger" because they have to sell the Storyteller on what they're doing, not match a series of numbers. all pen and paper games fall on the "RolLplaying" to "RolEplaying" spectrum, and the type of system plays to different styles. The initial TtB is designed with RolEplaying in mind. Mechanics are kept loose and fast because it's not about rolling that Nat 20, it's about "describe the scene that's happening." The mechanics aren't about appropriate CR value, they're about what makes for the most interesting collaborative story. The issues that arise are where you have mechanically minded responses to story-based questions. D20 Star Wars has a good example of this. Mechanically speaking the Jedi class is BROKEN. The limitations and balances on it are RolEplaying in nature. I'm not saying that RolL or RolEplaying is better though. I'm just saying that this system lends itself to a particular style of game play that has different conventions than others.

Well THERE's a familiar avatar Zoraida is a positioning Master. When there isn't much in the way of killing for Schemes or Strats, Zoraida is your go-to in the Gremlin Group. Zoraida also allows you to do some interesting tech outside the normal. Nurse + Lenny for example gives you an enforcer that can soak a ton of damage, then the Nurse heals em with no side-effects. Somer is the generalist master. He can do all the things okay where the other masters do a couple things great. If you want to make a "Spam" list (IE: piles and piles of models running over everything), you'll want to get another box of Bayou. I rarely go above 8, but 12 is a reasonable number if you REALLY REALLY like piles of squishy models.

To throw in a different topic under the "Gator-ade" umbrella, I got my gators in from the Black Friday sale, and I'm really digging putting them together. The gremlin balancing on the gator mouth is ridiculously too tiny, but the bayou halfway in the gator mouth has a variant head, soooo that's a thing. A thing for a robot legs survivor proxy perhaps?

As a person who's got Zoraida in my top three masters, I can fully endorse the Nurse/ 2x Shinobi combo. One of my OTHER favorite combos is hooking the Voodoo Doll to the opponents Beater, then forcing the opponent to hit itself (ish).

For my personal preferences, two should be fine (As a reference I generally play Ophelia, Zoraida, and Wong). I like the positioning options that Bushwhackers give, an option you don't generally get with the hyper-optimized Bayou Gremlins and Slop Haulers.

It's an understandable reaction ^_^. One of the cardinal rules I live by as a GM is "The players only know what you tell em". As long as everyone's having fun, you'll be alright. Knowing the minis game means you have 82% of the rules down pat, so it's really just the last tiny bits. The Fatemasters Screen is a useful tool for the tricky bits.

1] What general tips or tricks are there to building a self written adventure? Take a Bruce Willis movie and Mad Lib the pronouns out for "Malifaux" words ^_^. For a Campaign, the best advice I have is "Keep track of 3 things: Where they're at, where you want to end, and what your players do to get there." 2] How many times can a person cast a spell? Are there a limit of spells per day like other RPGs? No limit. 3] How do you deal with or create manifested powers? Whatever you feel comfortable with in your game honestly. When players start out, they shouldn't have anything above what you can find on a minion card. As they get to the halfway point ish, think Enforcer, then towards the end think Henchman. 4] At the prologue, how do you handle the "leveling up" process? I know you can pick skills for people to level up or get, but how is that done? Is there any formula you guys use to determine this? You as the FM suggest to the players 3 skills they used the most in that session. The player picks one you suggested, or one their pursuit allows. 5] When using the one-offs [Penny Dreadfuls] without the pregenterated characters [whether they are provided or not] how do you handle leveling up and progression? Other than the Tarot Readings, progression should be like normal. 6] I know each session needs to focused towards advancing or defining a Fated's fate[destiny]. How do you go about this? This is a toughie. I honestly look at all 5 of the players Fate Steps, and construct a 5 part plot from that. But beyond that, it's really just having a decision in the story that changes based on that player's actions 7] Is initiative flips for dynamic events [combat] used from the central fate deck? Yup. 8] How do you go about setting a target number? Again, this is a fiddly one that's kinda based on your preference. Towards the beginning of the Fatemaster's Guide, they give you suggestions. 9] I've read over the section several times, but I"m still having trouble understanding Margins of Success/Margins of Failure. Any easier way to understand it? When you determine weak/moderate/severe in Malifaux? It's like that

In the previous edition, Obadiah and Burt Jebsen pal'd around the swamps having cool adventures and generally being rad all day. Like Mason said, Obadiah picked up a bag, glued a fu Manchu onto his face with some spirit gum, and made with the magic stuff as Wong. Burt and Wong traveled on a mission of vengeance against the Ten Thunders since they wrecked Burt and Wong's village.

To make a horrible comparison, Ophelia in this edition plays like Perdita of the previous edition. For a slightly more useful explanation, the models play differently. There are comparisons, but ultimately Ophelia will have more models on the board, and she's got a movement element that really shines (Ophelia is the Turf War/ Reckoning master).

What I see as a "normal" Summon list is bringing in 1 Bayou a turn, and just having 3-4 already baked in. 8 is a perfectly fine number (mainly cause you can have unique minis using 4 old and 4 new ^_^)

When you see the word "kill", Ophelia + Trixie + Francois... Then some other stuff or whatever ^_^. In a "murder-ate" game, going first is super useful, firing the most shots is useful, and the Lacroix are simply the best crew for it. If you want to get "serious" about it, Old Cranky is the totem choice cause anything that mitigates the cost of resources is awesome. Aaaand Bounty is an upgrade for Trixie as well ;)

Where there's a McTavish, there's a me thinking super hard about Croc-a-gators. And that whole "cheating cards" discussion is handled by S'omers "Bigger Hat Than You" and pure out activation. The Gators just benefit from the scraps.

Someone picked up the Brewmaster box, ya say? Things to help with Wong: Reckoning/ Turf War is where he's a monster. If it looks like you're going to be fighting over a small area, Wong's a great choice. The crew needs ways of handling single targets and being able to scheme run, so a pack of bayous is useful. For the Ooo Glowy targets, don't be afraid to look at Mercs that provide something useful to a Strat/Scheme. My personal fav is Ooo Glowy on Sue over in Outcasts. in terms of models to look forward to, one I'm chomping at the bit for is Sammy Lacroix, mainly because I get access to both of Wong's Limiteds. Welcome to the cool faction ^_^

One of my first wins when this was just for bragging rights was my take on the infamous raid where Ophelia Lacroix stole Perdita's hat.

Rooster Riders are shiny and chrome in a Zoraida list. If you stick to one master, and need solid damage profiles, the Rooster Rider (and some luck) are GREAT choices.

Some of my information applies to Grem-raida, but I'm assuming that the principles carry over. 1) Squatter's Rights and Turf War Zoraida is the master of manipulation. I don't take her if murder is on the plate, I take her if objectives are in play. She is just AWESOME in the level of manipulation on the board. You want Outflank or Entourage? Take Raven Form and sort of keep her in the middle of the board. She is a positioning beast. 2) Try to bend the rules Zoraida's ability to hire Living Wp4 or less models is always something to consider and try and break. My new favorite combo is Nurse + 2 Moon Shinobi. This ability has the potential of opening up entirely new avenues of 'wait what?" that will keep your opponent on their toes. 3) The Voodoo Doll Never forget this little guy. Opponent has a beater in your face with an awesome damage profile? Summon a Voodoo Doll, Hem it to the Beater, then Obey the beater to attack the Voodoo Doll. For 1 turn's worth of ap, Zoraida essentially got the cool beater to hit itself, AND set up a great target for the rest of the Gremlin army to set on fire. Hope this helps!

I honestly wish I had made it a Halloween-themed adventure, but Night of the Carver is a solid option.

Kinda fiddly looking, but I've wanted these models since the book 2 playtest, SOO... Sign me up!

Lillith is going to have the easiest time against Gremlins TBH. The key things that make Gremlins hum are the things Lillith has the easiest time shutting down. Here's pointers to remember: Gremlins want out activation. I do not care about losing models because that's dropping my 18 AP a turn to 12 AP a turn. So blanket effects, blasts, and multiple targets are always good actions to take. Learn the key models. Break the Slop Hauler, break Lenny, and you'll have an easier time.

Given that Non-fated characters have a static number for their actions (rank value), any buffs would just happen assuming the rank value was enough to make the action work. Rank Value is considered the card flip for Non-fated characters. Page 201 of the Fatemasters book has stats for the Stuffed Piglet, and you the Fatemaster flip for the bacon bomb, sooooo you could make some assumptions there. Hope this helps

Hmm... Justin finally ret-cons Neverborn and the 3rd dimension out of the game.

Right, posting the updated rules that were erased by the Nothing: play every 7 days, set goals at the beginning. you have two schemes you're trying to complete: an exercise and a food scheme. Each player builds like they're playing Henchman Hardcore, and starts out at 0 hand size and 0 stones. Each day you complete the food scheme, +1 hand size, each day you complete the exercise scheme, +1 stone (Max 4). your exercise goal is 3 exercises that challenge you. One exercise gains reactivate for each enforcer in your crew. You must activate each exercise for a number of turns equal to the Hench cache and a number of reps each equal to the total cost of the hench (3 turns of 10 is the minimum Nekima players).

So, here's an idea I've been mulling over that I think could be fun: gamifying Malifaux for the purpose of health. The game is a modified Henchman Hardcore. You start out with crap resources, then as you exercise throughout the week, you get better ones. The more you workout, the more you bend the rules. The workout: Pick three exercises to do in a given workout. Increase the number by the number of enforcers you have in your crew. You do these exercises for a number of cycles equal to the henchmans cache, at a number of reps equal to their total cost (Trixie with her gun would be 3 exercises at 5 cycles of 9 reps). Now, food. Eating right is as important as exercise and it gives you the ability to have the exact energy you need. Players start out with a 0-sized hand of cards, they set a healthy food goal and each day they stick to it, they get +1 hand size.

LOOOOVE the new forum look. It also works from my phone to my laptop which is AWESOME... AND I can give you guys money in exchange for stuffs? Best day ever!